Men at Arms

This edition of the book is not a regular mass-market paperback, but a tall and thin one. In new condition, it’s so crisp it’s almost impossible to read the text near the inside margins. And it’s completely impossible to hold the book open with one hand like many of us readers do when we read.

I think Men At Arms isn’t destined to be re-read quite as often or as enthusiastically as Guards! Guards!, but I feel like Terry Pratchett was more ambitious in his approach to his themes in this one. The exploration of the nature of power are carried over from Guards Guards is carried over, but it also refocuses it through the lens of race and class. Also at the crux of the story’s central mystery is an item new to Discworld, a weapon that could completely upend the entrenched class and power structures in favor of whoever holds it. It also utilized the Guilds more than any Discworld book I’ve read to date. And the Guilds actually do an unexpectedly good job at shifting the perspective on my understanding of the power structures of Ankh-Morpork. They help paint the picture of while the city is ruled over by a Patrician, the bedrock of the city rests in being organized into democratic self-governing communes. Even the dogs. Even the clowns. Oh right. Trigger warning: clowns. Whoever told me to read this book without warning me about how much space is devoted to clowns owes me an emotional support raven.

There are new recruits for the City’s guard force. Including a troll, a dwarf, and a woman. First time for all 3 species. And a new kind of killing, never seen before. Watch Captain Vimes and Carrot deal with it all in their very own ways. Absolutely the funniest book ever written, with great surprises, including the exploding dragon. Read and revel in the hilarity.

“Vimes smiled. Someone was trying to kill him, and that made him feel more alive than he had done in days.
And they were also slightly less intelligent than he was. This is a quality you should always pray for in your would-be murderer.”

Murders are rare in Ankh-Morpork. Suicides and assassinations…well, they’re a dime a dozen, but genuine murders are pretty darned rare. But DEATH has been busier than usual lately, and it’s up to Carrot and Vimes of the Night Watch to figure out what the heck is going on.

This is a most excellent entry in the Discworld series. In addition to the thrilling mystery, we get to:

* Meet an adorable gargoyle.

* Dine at a dwarf deli, where it seems impossible to order anything that doesn’t come with Spam, oops! I mean rat.

* Attend the funniest clown funeral since Chuckles bit the dust on ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show.’

There’s all this…PLUS, the Librarian gets to attend yet another wedding! Oook! Oook!

Did I enjoy this book?

Does a dragon explode in the woods?

With a couple of weeks to go until his wedding to Lady Sibyl Rankin, Captain Sam Comes has to get used to new recruits in the Night Watch – namely Detritus the troll, Cuddy the dwarf and Angus who is female. And then someone steals a dragon and a clown is killed along with a dwarf. The city is ready to explode into violence especially as the trolls and dwarves are wound tight as it is their anniversary of Koom Valley which is the only time both sides ambushed the other.